We love live/work spaces — the challenge of accommodating two totally different functions into a single space always churns up creativity. Our friends’ ground level apartment in a two-family home in Arlington is a lovely example. The soft, cohesive color palette of the living spaces keeps the office environment light and refreshing while the organizational attitude of the work space keeps the home environment neat and tidy. Throw in great art and a few design classics and you’ve got a home that packs quite a punch...

The apartment is a common layout for the Boston area, built around 1915. It got a basic renovation before we purchased it and we've made incremental improvements. We use one of the two bedrooms as a home office for the two of us, so organization is really important. The closets are jam-packed, but organized with DIY shelving and lots of labeled bins. Soft white, gray, and charcoal black are used throughout; then each room has a different wall color. This means that each one feels different, but we can move furniture and accessories around and they work just about anywhere. We don't get a lot of direct light, so we try to keep things bright with white, aluminum, and glass accessories. We also try to group the necessary clutter so that we can have areas that are clean and open.

AT SurveyOur style: bright, friendlyInspiration: Charles and Ray Eames, family and friends, Dwell, Martha, NYTimes, online browsingFavorite Element: multiple spots for reading (i.e. napping)Biggest Challenge: too many doors, not enough walls, little direct sunlight, hardly any closet space (the usual!)What Friends Say: It's so clean — should I take my shoes off? Can I borrow some books? (the answer to both is "yes" and you can borrow some slippers, too!)Biggest Embarrassment: generic kitchen and bathroom cabinetryProudest DIY: installing crown molding and a low-energy bathroom ceiling fan/light (plus our garden, which is in hibernation now)Biggest Indulgence: a ridiculous white couch — but it keeps the room brightBest advice: pick things that you love and they'll work togetherDream source: Moss, Moroso, Cappellini, Moooi